Del Norte County

LANGUAGE

The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.

Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Only English

18,977

87.44%

23,465

90.16%

Spanish

1,746

8.04%

1,592

6.12%

Other Indo-European*

685

3.16%

370

1.42%

Asian Language**

191

0.88%

425

1.63%

Other

104

0.48%

174

0.67%

Total Population Age 5+

21,703

100.00%

26,026

100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

748

46.98%

Other Indo-European*

70

18.92%

Asian Language**

272

64.00%

Other Language

0

0.00%

Total

1,090

4.19%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

648

37.11%

Other Indo-European*

177

25.84%

Asian Language**

124

64.92%

Other Language

51

49.04%

Total

1,000

4.61%

* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."

** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.

Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.